What We Don't Know
by likesuperglue
Summary: How could he be there for her, when he was destined to die once he was going to do something nice for her? CHARLIECLAIRE, SEASON 3 SPOILERS
1. Prologue

**Introduction: WHAT WE DON'T KNOW  
**  
"Just because you say it's going to be alright doesn't mean it actually will be!" Charlie said, trudging after a very upset Claire. He hadn't meant to upset her like this.

Claire stopped and turned around. "I don't want this…" She exclaimed, holding his backpack out for him to take it back but he refused. "I said I don't want it."

"Claire, if something sudden happens to me, I want you to have my things!" Charlie tried to explain but she just stood there, with a plain expression. She dropped his backpack, causing the content to fall out and Claire shook her head, walking away again, leaving him there. Charlie got down on his knees and started packing the backpack again.

Getting back to her own little "tent", Claire watched Aaron sleep calmly. He didn't have to worry about the things she worried about, and he didn't have to face the bitterness or life – yet anyway. All of that calmed her, but Charlie was still on her mind. As he was quite a lot of the time, since she cared about him – a lot and not in the way friends care about each other. Her thoughts were interrupted by Sun.

"Is everything alright?" Sun asked, really meaning it as she and Claire were close.

Claire nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah, everything's perfectly fine!" She answered and Sun looked at her in disbelief. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"I saw you and Charlie…" Sun said. "Did you have a fight?"

"No…" Claire began and looked down. "It's just that… Charlie thinks he's going to die."

Sun stared blankly at Claire. "Is he sick?" She asked worriedly and Claire shook her head. "Then why would he think that?"

Charlie was walking along the beach, alone, trying to listen to what Claire had told him. That everything would be alright, they would work it out _together_. But so far, Desmond has seen him die doing something for Claire or rescuing her. How could he be there for her, when he was destined to die once he was going to do something nice for her? Charlie sat down in the sand, watching the waves dance in front of him.

He wanted it to be him and Claire – and Aaron of course. He treated Aaron as if he was his son, and Charlie hoped Claire had realised that. Charlie had kicked the drugs for the two of them and fought his own war with his inner demons and there was so much more he'd do for Claire and Aaron – or as he liked to address them – his family.


	2. I’ll be there for you, forever

**CHAPTER ONE: **I'll be there for you, forever.

Sun had offered to watch Aaron for a while and Claire had gladly accepted. She walked down to the shore, starting to walk – something she did daily to get some peace in her mind. Sometimes, Claire actually like the island and would prefer staying there, as long as they had enough of food and water. Raising a baby on an island didn't seem so bad at times. Maybe it was selfish, but Claire liked the idea. Because then she would have Charlie by her side.

After walking for a while, she spotted Charlie about 30 metres ahead of her and she walked faster. When she arrived, he seemed to be in such deep thoughts that he didn't even notice her coming.

"Charlie?" Claire asked carefully and he turned his head, obviously surprised.

"Claire?! Hi!" He shot up quickly. "Is everything okay?!"

Claire smiled and nodded. "Yes, something doesn't have to be wrong for me to come and talk to you…" She said, still smiling. "I'm sorry about before, I just didn't know-"

Charlie shook his head and cut her off. "It's fine! I should apologize! We should take it day by day… just because some guy comes and tell me I'm a dead man doesn't mean we have to take it seriously, right?" He said, jokingly and Claire giggled. "I haven't died yet anyway."

Both of them sat down in the sand again, watching the sun preparing for a sunset. The silence wasn't awkward as it had been many times before, it was rather peaceful and something they both needed. A moment of letting the silence speak for them, telling them that they no longer needed words. They were past that, the looks they shared meant more than words now.

Charlie was the one to break the silence. "So… the bird thing… magnificent." He said, making Claire laugh.

"I don't know if I want it to work though." Claire said, truthfully and Charlie looked at her.

"Now why wouldn't you want that, love?" Charlie asked, wondering if he should feel worried about her sudden feelings or not.

Claire looked back at him and smiled shyly. "I just… I like it here sometimes, Charlie. And raising a baby on an island… so far so good, right?" She said and Charlie nodded, getting her point. "Besides, the weather is amazing! When it doesn't rain." Claire quickly added, thinking she should've added that she liked the island because _he_ was there. But maybe that was to rush into something too quickly?

"What about me?" Charlie asked and Claire looked at him. "Do I fit in there somewhere?"

She opened her mouth to answer but then she looked down, smiling. "Of… of course you do, Charlie…" Claire finally answered nervously and unsure. Obviously she wouldn't have been rushing too quickly. "You make this place likeable."

He was satisfied with her answer and smiled. After a while, they decided to go back to camp, and they walked hand-in-hand.

As they approached the camp, Charlie and Claire noticed that the people were standing in a group, looking at something – or someone – and through all the questions, they heard a faint sound of a baby crying – Aaron. Charlie took the lead and started to run and Claire followed him, holding his hand tightly.

"What bloody happened?!" Charlie asked as he went up to the group of people.

Kate turned to him. "It's Sun, she fainted." She explained and Claire let go of Charlie's hand, running towards her tent and Charlie followed her, not caring more about Sun fainting.

Claire quickly pulled Aaron up from his crib, holding him tightly. "Shh, it's alright, Aaron. Mommy's here." She said, soothingly. "Why didn't anyone take notice of him?!" Claire suddenly screamed at the group of people and they looked blankly at her as Jack carried Sun to her and Jin's tent.

"We were just so caught up in Sun fainting-" Kate started but Claire's angry yet worried voice cut her off.

"Oh so now my baby doesn't matter when someone faints?!" Claire asked while she rocked Aaron slowly, and she didn't hide that she was furious. Charlie stood next to her as support. He was with her on this – they should have taken notice of Aaron since he had been crying. Probably for a while too.

Kate walked towards them. "But nothing happened to him, he's fine." She said, wondering why Claire was reacting this way.

"He was crying!" Claire snapped. "He never cries for no reason and you were all too busy with someone fainting, which happens all the time."

"I think you're overreacting now and Sun is pregnant which means we had to take care of her." Kate explained, trying to calm Claire down.

Charlie stepped forward. "She's not bloody overreacting! You're like bloody… 40 people! At least one of you lazy people could've checked on Aaron." He snapped and Kate let out a sigh.

"Just let it go." She said and walked past them.

Claire sat down in the tent, holding Aaron and Charlie came to her. "Charlie, what would I do without you?" Claire asked and Charlie thought about it. He had finally been able to do something semi-nice for her without risking his own life.

"One day I won't be here, Claire." Charlie suddenly blurted out and Claire stared at him, opening her mouth to protest but he stopped her. "I'm not saying that day will come tomorrow or next week, but it will come."

"But Charlie-" Claire protested but he quickly stopped her from saying more.

Charlie swallowed, continuing. "And I need to know that you go on once that day comes."


	3. I need you to know

**CHAPTER ****TWO: **I need you to know

One moment he was his happy and weird self, the next he was grumpy and telling her to let him go once he passed. And they hadn't even discussed in what stage in their relationship was at. Claire stroked Aaron's cheek and a faint smile spread over her face. She was worried about Charlie, that was one sure thing, yet a part of her doubted the fact that he was going to die soon on the island. Taking a blanket, she put it over Aaron's crib to secure him from the cool breezes that the night brought.

"Claire…" She suddenly heard a voice and she turned her head and met Sun's face and Claire quickly looked down at her son again. "Claire, I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to be, you didn't mean to faint." Claire said, sighing. She was still upset about the fact that no one had taken notice of Aaron crying. "But do tell me, why would a pregnant woman offer to take care of a baby in the middle of the desert?"

Sun looked at Claire, she had never seen her like this. It seemed like she was somewhat tense and as Claire's friend, Sun wanted to be there for her. "I thought I could handle it. Is everything alright? You seem a little bit uptight."

"Everything's fine, Sun. Except that no one took notice in my son crying his bloody lungs out!" Claire said raising her voice and Sun backed away, retreating to her own tent.

Sighing, Claire decided to get some sleep. Sun was right, she was tense. And she was worried about Charlie; she didn't want anything to happen to him.

Charlie was sitting by the shore. Everyone's fires were burning out, yet he was sitting there. He hadn't slept much lately – all he could think of was him dying. When? Where? Why? He thought about what he would be leaving behind. Claire and Aaron – his family. If he was dying, he might as well use the family word. Charlie wouldn't be able to get another kind of family than them. Swallowing, he could feel his eyes tearing up as they often did at night time when he thought about Claire and when no one else noticed.

The next morning, Claire had slept in – mostly because Aaron had too. She held him tight to her chest, half-running through the camp, frantically looking for Charlie. "Have you seen Charlie?" She finally asked Hurley and he could hear the worry in her voice.

"No, well… uh, I kinda did. He took off with Desmond a few hours ago." Hurley answered, searching her face for answers.

"With Desmond? Where were they going?" Claire asked him, rocking Aaron. She was hurt by the fact that Charlie hadn't told her anything about it. He hadn't even said goodbye and that made her heart sink.

Hurley shrugged. "I don't know, they didn't tell anyone." He said and Claire nodded, continuing to walk, still holding Aaron and she suddenly stopped, sighing.

"I'm sorry, Claire…" Claire spun around as she heard Kate's voice and her heart started beating faster – had something happened to Charlie?! "Claire, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, what are you sorry about?" Claire asked, swallowing and she breathed deeply, trying to calm down. She had probably just overreacted.

Kate looked suspicious at Claire. "About yesterday… that no one took notice of Aaron?"

"Oh," Claire started, breathing out in relief. "It's fine, no biggie." She said, not really meaning it since she was still upset about it but all she wanted right now was to find Charlie. Claire needed him to know how she felt, desperately.

"Hey…" Kate said, trying to get her attention. "Are you okay? If you're not I can take Aaron for a while." She offered.

Claire shook her head. If anyone would be babysitting Aaron it was Charlie. "No, I'm fine. It's nothing, I'm just looking for someone." She said distantly and started walking away.

After interacting with Claire, Kate was worried about her. She decided to talk to Jack, unless he was busy with Juliet as he always was nowadays. When she finally found him – with Juliet – she forced a small smile.

"Jack, can I talk to you?" Kate asked him sweetly. "In private."

Jack looked at Juliet and then at Kate. "I don't think it's that private, now is it?"

"No, Jack, it is. I don't want to discuss someone else between six eyes." Kate said firmly and Juliet got the hint and she left. "I'm worried about Claire."

He looked at Kate. "Why are you worried about her, Kate?" Jack simply asked.

Kate crossed her arms, sighing as she felt as if Jack didn't want her there. "She seemed so distant today." She answered, looking at Jack.

Jack shrugged. "Maybe she's just tired." He said.

"She said she was looking for someone…" Kate started, almost sounding desperate. "Maybe you could talk to her. I mean, you are the doctor."

"If it brings peace to your mind, Kate, I'll talk to her." He said, giving in and he gave her a small smile before walking away from her.

He kept his promise. Jack felt like he had to even if Kate had somewhat hurt him to an extent. Before walking up to Claire, he decided to observe her for a while – just to see if Kate had felt worried for a reason. And she sure had. Jack got the feeling that Claire was tense and worried by just looking at her.

Claire kept walking back and forth in her tent. Aaron was sleeping and Charlie wasn't back yet. She finally sat down, trying to relax but she couldn't. She would at least have wanted a goodbye (not a permanent one unless it had been necessary) and one of Charlie's "I'll be back, nothing will happen".

"Claire?" Jack asked, approaching her and she rose, clearly uptight. "Can I talk to you?"

Claire nodded, sitting down again. "Yeah, sure… is everything okay?" She asked.

"That's what I wanted to ask you, actually." Jack said, sitting down next to her. "Kate said she was worried about you. And I am too."

She smiled faintly. "That's very sweet of you, but I'm fine." Claire said, looking down.

"I'm not saying you're lying but…" Jack started but he stopped as Claire rose, staring straight forward and started walking slowly. "Claire?" He asked, trying to get her attention. As he rose he saw what Claire was seeing – Desmond coming out from the jungle, carrying Charlie over his shoulder. 


	4. You choose what to believe

_Thank you for your reviews! It's always nice to know what people think._

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CHAPTER THREE: **You choose what to believe

"CHARLIE!" Claire started screaming, running towards Desmond who was carrying a lifeless Charlie and Jack quickly followed Claire, shouting at Kate and Juliet who were nearby to get some help.

Jack quickly caught up with Claire, looking at her. "Claire, listen to me! Listen to me! You have to take care of your son, okay? Charlie will be fine!" He said, aware that he might be lying about that fact that Charlie would be okay. He didn't know that, he certainly wasn't sure.

Claire's eyes teared up and the tears fell from her eyes, rolling down her pale cheeks and she sobbed hysterically. "Save him…" She managed to choke out.

Kate came up to Claire, putting an arm around her. "Come on." She said, leading Claire back to her camp. If Charlie was hurt, the last thing she needed was to see him in that state.

Desmond carried Charlie to his own tent and Jack followed and Juliet came after them, carrying supplies. "What happened?!" Jack asked, starting to examine Charlie. When he got no answer, he repeated his question in a more desperate way. "What happened?!"

Looking up at him, Desmond swallowed. "He fell…" He started. "From a tree, the branch broke and he fell."

Jack nodded. "He's seriously hurt." He stated, swallowing. "Whatever you do, don't tell Claire. I need you to leave, Desmond. Juliet – you'll have to help me now."

Desmond left the tent as he had been told to do and he looked over at Claire's tent where she was sitting with Kate, crying. Suddenly a thunder was heard and the next moment, rain started pouring down over them.

"Please calm down, Claire. Jack will fix him." Kate said soothingly, trying to calm her friend down but it was easier said than done.

As the rain was smashing against the roof of the tent, Aaron woke up and started crying hysterically and Claire picked him up, rocking him. "Shh, it's okay, Aaron. Please…" Claire managed to whisper to him through her own sobs.

"I can take him…" Kate said. It was more of a statement than an offer. "You need to calm down and if you don't, Aaron will be crying for a long time."

Claire nodded. Kate was right, if she didn't calm down, Aaron wouldn't either. She gave him to Kate, stroking his head and she sobbed. "You should go over to your tent… keep him away from me for a little while." Claire said quietly and Kate nodded. "Just shield him from the rain, okay?" Kate did as Claire said and went over to her own tent.

Everything that Claire had been through with Charlie was going through her mind. All she could think of was Charlie and how she couldn't live without him. She didn't even know if she could take care of Aaron all by herself. Looking out from her tent, she saw Jack and Juliet finally leaving Charlie alone in the tent to discuss something. This was her chance to see Charlie and tell him even if he wasn't conscious.

As the coast was clear, Claire rushed from her tent to Desmond's where Charlie was. When she got inside, she felt new tears burning on the inside of her lids at the sight of Charlie and she sunk to her knees by his side.

"Oh my Go… Charlie…" Claire sobbed, taking his hand. He was pale, dirty and bloody. He was breathing but it was almost unnoticeable. Yet it was Charlie, _her_ Charlie, lying there. "I'm so sorry… I should've told you how much I care about you. I love you, Charlie." She choked out through her sobs and she moved her other hand to his forehead, carefully stroking it.

Jack entered the tent and was shocked to see Claire there. "Claire…" He said sadly. "What are you doing here?" He knew that if it had been Desmond or someone else in here, he would've yelled at them. But it was Claire, and her desperate face and her swollen red eyes made it hard to get angry or annoyed.

"I can't live without him, Jack. And I didn't even tell him that!" Claire said, casting a lot of blame on herself. She tried to recover from sobbing and crying and she looked at Jack. "What happened to him?"

He pondered between saying 'I don't know' and telling her the truth. Though he knew Claire deserved the very bitter truth, which he doubted. "Apparently he fell from a tree. He's seriously hurt, Claire. It doesn't look good right no-"

"Apparently?!" Claire raised her voice. Controlling her temper was something she was bad at. "You're not even sure what happened to him?!" The fact that Charlie was seriously hurt pierced her heart and she swallowed.

"I could take Desmond's word and believe him, but something tells me there's more to it because falling from a tree doesn't give these kind of injuries." Jack explained seriously.

Claire nodded and looked down at Charlie, stroking his forehead. Rising, she eventually let Charlie's hand go and she walked out from the tent, leaving Jack there to take care of Charlie. After all, he was the doctor and Claire couldn't do anything. To her surprise, the rain had stopped and she looked around.

Finding who she was looking for, she made her way over to him. "So he fell from a tree?" Claire asked Desmond who was trying to build up a fire for the coming night. He turned around quickly.

"Claire-" he started but Claire was quick to cut him off, not giving him time for a useless explanation.

"Then why did Jack tell me that Charlie has more serious injuries?!" Claire asked him, holding back her tears and sadness.

Desmond was caught off guard by this sudden change in mood of Claire. "All I know is that he fell from a tree." Desmond stated, rising. Claire let out a sarcastic chuckle and she shook her head in disbelief.

"I don't believe you." She said seriously and she really did mean that. Crossing her arms, she heard Desmond sigh.

"It's your choice to believe what you want…" Desmond said back, eyeing her.

Kate had watched from afar how Claire had walked up to Desmond and she decided to interrupt as she knew nothing good would come of them starting a feud. She held Aaron close as she walked over to them.

"Claire – Aaron has calmed down now…" Kate said as Claire turned to her. "What's going on?"

Claire looked over at Desmond and so did Kate but he didn't answer, he just walked away.


	5. The truth is out there

_This chapter is shorter than the other ones. The next one will be longer though, I promise. Keep reviewing!_  
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CHAPTER FOUR: **The truth is out there...

Claire was back in her tent with Aaron and Kate was there with her to support her and try to find out why she had walked up to Desmond like that. "What was that about?" Kate asked, crossing her arms.

Claire looked up at Kate. "That? Desmond? I was just asking him something." Claire said, looking down at Aaron again, tickling him. It was obvious that she wasn't herself right then. Charlie was still on her mind and she couldn't stop worrying.

"Asking him what?" Kate asked, not out of curiosity, she just wanted to know what was going on between everyone since Jack hadn't told her anything.

"About what happened to Charlie." Claire answered and saw the blank expression on Kate's face. Apparently she didn't know anything. "Desmond told Jack that Charlie fell from a tree, but Jack told me that…" Claire started but she stopped as her eyes started tearing up again. "…that Charlie's injures are too serious to be from a fall." She said with a shaky voice and Kate bit her lip, wishing she had never asked.

Kate looked down. "Even if he's seriously hurt, he'll be fine with Jack's care." She said and Claire looked at her.

Swallowing, she held back the tears. "What if he's not going to recover? Boone didn't make it."

As she brought up Boone, Kate looked up at her. She knew how much it had upset Jack to let him go. "Boone was another case, Claire. He's not Charlie." She simply said.

Jack was cleaning Charlie's wounds for the second time. That was the most important thing right now, the risks of infection was much bigger on an island without proper medical care. Charlie was lying still, not breathing enough. In fact, he was barely breathing and because of that, Jack was worried. Even if Charlie was alive, he wasn't going to be for much longer if Jack didn't fix him properly soon.

Kate walked into the tent, feeling relaxed as Juliet wasn't there. "How is he?" Kate asked and Jack turned his head, looking at her.

He shrugged. "He's… hanging in there. Barely but, he's alive." Jack said, looking at Charlie again, thinking back at how Claire had reacted before. "How's Claire?"

"Not good. She definitely loves him; I guess more than she lets herself." Kate said, sitting down on her knees, hoping he didn't mind her being there. "Jack… if you can't save him-"

"I will save him, Kate!" Jack snapped and looked intensely at her. "Sorry…" He quickly apologized.

She nodded, giving him a weak smile. "I know you will, but if something goes wrong… don't blame yourself."

Jack nodded and looked at her. "I need you to do something for me."

Hurley had just heard about Charlie and he was worried – really worried. But also worried about Claire so he decided to go over to her. "Hey, Claire…" He said nervously.

Claire looked up and her mouth almost curled into a smile, but just barely. "Hey Hurley." She said quietly. Her voice was worn out from shedding so many tears.

"How's Charlie?" Hurley asked carefully, looking down at Aaron and than at Claire. "How are you?"

"Charlie's hanging in there…" Claire said, nodding. "And I'm… fine, I guess." 

As she said the last sentence, they heard some screaming nearby and Claire rose and Hurley turned around, trying to figure out what was going on.


End file.
